The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.
The bean weevils or seed beetles are a subfamily (Bruchinae) of beetles, now placed in the family Chrysomelidae, though they have historically been treated as a separate family. They are granivores, and typically infest various kinds of seeds or beans, living most of their lives inside a single seed. The subfamily includes about 1,650 species and are found worldwide.
Sitophilus is a genus of weevils in the tribe Litosomini. Some species are familiar as pests of stored grain, nut, or seed. Notable pest species include the rice weevil, wheat weevil, and maize weevil.
Centaurea solstitialis, the yellow star-thistle, is a species of thorny plant in the genus Centaurea, which is part of the family Asteraceae. A winter annual, it is native to the Mediterranean Basin region and invasive in many other places. It is also known as golden starthistle, yellow cockspur and St. Barnaby's thistle.
Hylobius abietis or the large pine weevil is a beetle belonging to family Curculionidae. This species is widely regarded as the most important pest of most commercially important coniferous trees in European plantations. Seedlings planted or arising from natural regeneration after clear felling operations are especially at risk. The adult weevils cause damage by eating the bark of seedlings around the 'collar' of the stem, thus 'ring-barking' the tree seedling which usually results in its demise.
Anthonomus eugenii is known as the pepper weevil. This beetle feeds and lays eggs on plants in the genus Capsicum and a few species in the genus Solanum. A. eugenii is native to Mexico, however, it is an important pest of Capsicum in Florida, Puerto Rico, and Central America.
Hypothenemus hampei, the coffee berry borer or coffee borer beetle, is a small beetle native to Africa. It is among the most harmful pests to coffee crops across the world where coffee is cultivated. Spanish common names of the insect include barrenador del café, gorgojo del café, and broca del café.
Callosobruchus maculatus is a species of beetles known commonly as the cowpea weevil or cowpea seed beetle. It is a member of the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae, and not a true weevil. This common pest of stored legumes has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. The beetle most likely originated in West Africa and moved around the globe with the trade of legumes and other crops. As only a small number of individuals were likely present in legumes carried by people to distant places, the populations that have invaded various parts of the globe have likely gone through multiple bottlenecks. Despite these bottlenecks and the subsequent rounds of inbreeding, these populations persist. This ability to withstand a high degree of inbreeding has likely contributed to this species’ prevalence as a pest.
The maize weevil, known in the United States as the greater rice weevil, is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. It can be found in numerous tropical areas around the world, and in the United States, and is a major pest of maize. This species attacks both standing crops and stored cereal products, including wheat, rice, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, and cottonseed. The maize weevil also infests other types of stored, processed cereal products such as pasta, cassava, and various coarse, milled grains. It has even been known to attack fruit while in storage, such as apples.
Caryobruchus gleditsiae is a species of beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It lives in North and Central America and develops inside the seeds of palm trees. Adults grow to a maximum length of 11 mm (0.43 in), the size depending on the size of the seed it grew up in. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum.
Acanthoscelides is a genus of bean weevils of the subfamily Bruchinae. They are native to the New World. About one third of them can be found in Mexico.
Diabrotica balteata is a species of cucumber beetle in the family Chrysomelidae known commonly as the banded cucumber beetle. It occurs in the Americas, where its distribution extends from the United States to Colombia and Venezuela in South America. It is also present in Cuba. It is a pest of a variety of agricultural crops.
Bruchidius is a genus of beetles in the bean weevil subfamily (Bruchinae) of the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. Most are native to the Old World.
Bruchus is a genus of beetles in the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. They are distributed mainly in the Palearctic, especially in Europe. Several occur in other parts of the world, such as North America, Africa, and Australia, as introduced species. Several species are notorious agricultural pests.
Callosobruchus chinensis is a common species of beetle found in the bean weevil subfamily, and is known to be a pest to many stored legumes. Although it is commonly known as the adzuki bean weevil it is in fact not a true weevil, belonging instead to the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. Other common names include the pulse beetle, Chinese bruchid and cowpea bruchid. This species has a very similar lifestyle and habitat to Callosobruchus maculatus and their identities are often mistaken for each other. This beetle is a common pest targeting many different species of stored legumes and it is distributed across the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. C. chinensis is one of the most damaging crop pests to the stored legume industry due to their generalized legume diets and wide distribution.
Acanthoscelides obtectus, the bean weevil, is a species of bruchid beetle. The species was described in 1831 by Thomas Say.
Bruchus rufimanus, commonly known as the broadbean weevil, broadbean beetle, or broadbean seed beetle is a leaf beetle which inhabits crops and fields, as well as some homes. It is a pest of faba beans. The adult beetles feed on pollen, while their larvae tunnel in seeds destroying crops and moving on to new ones once they dry out. The adult beetle, being one of the biggest of its genus, ranges from 3 to 5 mm in length.
Callosobruchus is a genus of beetles in the family Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles. It is in the subfamily Bruchinae, the bean weevils. Many beetles in the genus are well known as economically important pests that infest stored foodstuffs.
Sitona lineatus, commonly known as the pea leaf weevil is a species of weevil with a Palearctic distribution. It is a common pest of beans, peas, and other plants in the family Fabaceae. Adult beetles of S. lineatus measure 3.4-5.3 mm in length. They are characterized by a series of colored scales arranged in alternating lines (striae) on the elytra; it is from this characteristic where the species gets its name lineatus meaning 'lined' or 'striped'. The head and pronotum also have fine pointed setae amongst the scales. The antennae are clubbed, pointed and preceded by 7 segments. The femora is dark, but tibiae and tarsi are red. As a member of Order Coleoptera (beetles) their forewings are modified to form hardened covers over the thorax and abdomen, with the hindwings for flight underneath.
Rhinoncomimus latipes, the mile-a-minute weevil, is a species of weevil in the family of beetles known as Curculionidae.
